This Side of Paradise
by SakuraPrisma
Summary: Because they're just barely thirteen, they're still so innocent, and they're still figuring things out. –Main: SasuSaku. Side: NaruHina, ItaOC—
1. Chapter 1

This Side of Paradise

Summary: Because they're just barely thirteen, they're still so innocent, and they're still figuring things out. –SasuSaku, NaruHina, ItaOC—

Note: No Uchiha massacre, no Obito death, no Kurama rampaging. No Orochimaru crap. Uchiha clan is alive, as are Naruto's parents. Sasuke accepts his bonds with Naruto and Sakura. Naruto is not hated by the village. Sasuke is acknowledged by and spends time with Fugaku. Naruto and Sasuke are both figuring out their feelings for their respective ladies. Sakura… well, you'll see! :)

Note 2: I HAD to start writing this after reading what happened in the most recent Naruto episode, and I got so pissed off at what they did.

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

When they notice how anxious Sakura is during their team meeting and missions that day, Naruto and Sasuke exchange a glance. Something has obviously happened that is causing Sakura to act strange, what it is, they don't know, but she's been anxious for weeks now. When their missions end, Sakura is first to be gone, barely waiting for Kakashi to finish telling them they were done, and she runs right home.

Naruto thinks it's strange, but Sasuke knows there's got to be something going on.

He just hopes it's nothing bad, or anything that's hurting Sakura.

Sasuke knows her parents love her very much, she was their only child and daughter, and he was absolutely sure they would never abuse or hurt her.

 _Would they?_

After Sakura runs home once they've finished their missions for the day, Naruto suggests to Sasuke that they follow her to see what's going on, and Sasuke actually agrees with Naruto for once.

They're quiet as could be as they secretly follow Sakura to her home, hiding when they think she's heard them, and watching as she runs inside, calling for her mother.

"Mom! Mom, are you home?!"

"Yes, Sakura. I'm here."

From the window they're looking in, all they can see is her mother's back while she sits at the kotatsu, and Sakura is in front of her in an instant.

"Are you feeling ok today? Do you need me to get you anything?"

Mebuki laughs, shaking her head.

"No, I'm fine, Sakura! Don't worry and fret so much. My gosh. You act just like your father."

"But, mama, I just want to make sure you're ok!"

"I am, Sakura! I'm just pregnant, sweetheart!"

Sakura frowns a bit, but nods, then smiles and sets her hand on her mother's stomach, grinning when she feels a kick at her hand.

"Hey little sister~ How are you today?"

Mebuki laughs when the baby kicks again, telling Sakura "You don't know that you're getting a little sister. How do you know it's not a boy?"

Shrugging, Sakura grins and settles beside Mebuki. "I don't know. I just hope I get a little sister. You know I always wanted one when I was younger."

Naruto and Sasuke duck down when Sakura lifts her head towards the window, hoping she hasn't seen them before they sneak away, leaving the small family alone for some private time.

+!+

"So. Sakura-chan's going to be a big sister then."

"Aa…"

"That must be why she's been so anxious the last few months."

"Yeah."

Despite Sasuke's silence, Naruto grins, arms behind his head and he says "She'll be an awesome big sister. Why do you think she didn't tell us?"

Sasuke shrugs. "Maybe they didn't want the information out there yet. Her mother is over forty, after all."

"Yeah… I guess."

Naruto and Sasuke are quiet as they continue walking, before splitting up to head to their respective homes. They're both still surprised that Sakura's going to have a newborn sibling soon, but they're also very happy for her.

Still, they can't help but wonder why Sakura didn't tell them when she found out, especially since it appeared her mother was well along in her pregnancy.

+!+

Once he's home that night, Sasuke is quiet as he waits for Itachi to come home. He talks to Fugaku and Mikoto about his day, listening to them as they relay their days to him, before they both turn in for the night.

Instead of going to bed himself, Sasuke stays under the kotatsu with a book while he waits for Itachi. It's well past midnight when Itachi returns home, quietly entering the house so he didn't wake anyone that was sleeping.

"What are you doing up?"

Looking at his older brother, Sasuke simply says "Waiting for you. I wanted to ask you something."

Itachi nods, removing his bag and sitting beside Sasuke. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

"Not… wrong, per say."

"What does that mean?"

"I found out today that Sakura is going to be a big sister."

Itachi is quiet for a moment before he smiles and nods. "I see. She must be excited."

"Yeah… but she didn't tell us."

"Then how do you know? You didn't stalk her home, did you?"

"….."

"Sasuke?"

"It's not stalking."

Laughing, Itachi shakes his head and pokes Sasuke in the middle of his forehead. "You are a strange kid. So, what are you so worried about? The fact she didn't tell you guys?"

Sasuke nods, looking down. "Yeah. Naruto and I were surprised to see that her mother's pregnant, and to know she didn't tell us. We'd seen that she's been anxious lately, and we were wondering why."

"Really now?"

"I was worried she was being abused or something…"

Sasuke's confession just makes Itachi smile. His little brother had always, even when they were small, been protective of Sakura (they had been friends almost as long as Naruto and Sasuke had been), so it's no wonder he'd be so worried she was being treated wrongly.

"That's nice that you were so worried about her, but I'm sure Sakura-san is strong enough to take care of herself if something like that ever happened."

While Itachi gets up to leave, Sasuke just smiles to himself.

"Yeah… she is."

+!+

"And then, Sasuke and I followed Sakura-chan home—"

"You did WHAT?!"

"And we found out her mom is pregnant!"

Kushina just sighs and shakes her head, unable to believe her son followed poor Sakura home, while Minato laughs nervously for him.

Naruto was really wired and energetic that night, more so than usual, and Kushina was confused about why, so she questioned him and got the full story, which culminated with the revelation of Mebuki's pregnancy.

"Naruto! You do not follow people home like that!"

Naruto grins, nodding. "I know, mom! But… Sasuke and I were worried about Sakura. We've never seen her so anxious before. We needed to know what was going on."

"Couldn't you have just asked her?!"

"I don't think she would have told us! Sasuke said they were probably keeping the pregnancy a secret."

Kushina nods, sitting back down. She, actually, had known about Mebuki's pregnancy, as had Mikoto. They had been asked to keep it a secret, since Mebuki was terrified of having a miscarriage (once again, Kushina reminds herself) and she wanted to be absolutely sure this new little Haruno child would make it.

"Now, Naruto, don't—"

"I know. Don't let Sakura know that I know. Sasuke already told me that."

+!+

Sakura's evening is quiet. She spends it with Mebuki, talking to her and feeling her unborn sibling kick her hand every once in a while, grinning and listening to her mother chuckle when she does so.

Sakura knows how loved she and her little sibling are. Mebuki and Kizashi'd had so much trouble trying to have a child when they were first married, going through many false positives and several miscarriages, before Sakura was finally born, healthy and happy. They had felt so blessed to have her, and were ecstatic to be able to raise a beautiful girl as their daughter at last, exactly what they had wanted.

Now, Sakura was going to be a big sister, which was a great surprised considering Mebuki was already forty-two. Sakura had been so shocked when she came home from her missions one day, just four months ago, and her parents told her she was going to be a big sister.

She actually started crying because she was so happy. Sakura had desperately wanted a little sister when she was younger, and it upset her greatly when Mebuki told her it wasn't going to happen, but now it was, so much later than any of them ever expected.

"Mom?"

"Yes, Sakura?"

"When will we know whether the baby's a boy or girl?"

Mebuki smiles, patting Sakura on the head and letting her daughter hug her tightly. Sakura was already thirteen, but she still acted as though she were a small child sometimes, especially at moments like this.

"I'm going for an ultrasound next week. Your dad and I will decide then if we want to know. But, I'm thinking about leaving it a surprise, like we did with you."

Sakura nods, cuddling against Mebuki and closing her eyes, listening to her unborn sibling's kicks while Mebuki strokes her hair.

"So, what if you get a brother instead of a sister, Sakura?"

"I'll still love them, just because I'll have a little sibling."

Mebuki smiles and hugs Sakura closer, kissing the top of her head.

"That's good."

+!+

The next day, the Genin of Team Seven are quiet. Sakura is all smiles, while Naruto and Sasuke are just watching her. Neither of them is saying anything about knowing that Sakura's going to be a big sister, but they keep looking at each other, waiting for Sakura to say something.

Kakashi shows up before she can. He gives them the mission for the day, which, surprisingly, is to help Sakura's mother around the house.

Sakura is excited to hear that, and she tells them "Follow me!"

The boys nod, following behind Sakura as she runs home. Kakashi just laughs and watches them run ahead of him, coming along slowly.

When they get to her house, Sakura smiles and says "I have really great news that I've been _dying_ to share with you guys, but haven't been able to until today!"

Sasuke and Naruto nod, and Sakura lets them into her house.

"Mom! We're here for our mission!"

Sakura is gone from their sight as soon as she's taken her shoes off. They slowly follow suit, removing their shoes and following Sakura into the living room, seeing her on the floor in front of Mebuki, hand on her stomach again.

"Hey little one! I have some friends you need to meet!"

Sakura turns around and waves the boys over. They're both quiet as could be as they walk in and sit next to Sakura on the floor, while she looks back to Mebuki and smiles before talking to her unborn sibling.

"Sasuke-kun, Naruto. I found out a few months about that I'm going to be a big sister! I'm really sorry I kept it from you two… but we were trying to make sure the baby was going to be ok."

They both nod after a moment, finally understanding that her family was afraid of a miscarriage, and that was why it had been such a secret for so long.

Seeing how excited Sakura was made them happy for her, and they didn't mind taking over the chores that day. They had told Sakura to stay with Mebuki and help her with anything she needed, even though she tried to protest.

Sasuke, eventually, shook his head when Sakura told them to let her help.

"No, Sakura. Just stay with your mom. Naruto and I will take care of things."

Instead of saying another word, Sakura smiles and quickly kisses his cheek.

"Thank you so much."

Sasuke's face is bright red for the rest of the day, and he doesn't even fight Naruto when the blond mocks him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Kakashi hands them the forms for the Chunin exams two months later. None of them are sure they're ready, even though Kakashi seems to believe they are. They're all quiet when he releases them to do as they wish for the day, and the boys decide to walk Sakura home together.

Sakura looks like she's lost in thought, unsure of her feelings on the whole matter. The exams would be starting in two days, and her mother was almost at her due date with her unborn sibling. She didn't want to miss it just because of the exams.

So, when they get to her house, before she goes inside, Naruto looks at Sasuke, who knows what he's thinking and nods.

"Sakura-chan. If you don't want to do the Chunin Exams, we understand. We won't be mad."

Sakura stares at Naruto for a moment, before looking at Sasuke. He's trying not to look at her (he still feels awkward around her because of the kiss she gave him when they were helping her mother, and there was another unspoken incident neither of them were ready to speak of), but she sees a small nod from him.

"…are you sure? Becoming Chunin is a huge step… but I want to be there when my mom gives birth."

"Of course!" Naruto nods quickly, giving Sakura a grin.

"We can always take them next year." Sasuke says quietly, looking at Sakura at last, seeing she's grateful and probably about to burst into tears because she had such caring teammates. "You don't have to cry about it."

Nodding, Sakura wipes her eyes quickly and smiles.

"You're right, I'm sorry. I apologize, you guys, but I can't do the Chunin Exams when I know my mom's so close to giving birth."

They both nod, and Naruto says "Then we'll wait! We'll all become Chunin next year, and your little brother or sister can watch us!"

Sasuke nods once more, saying "Exactly. You can show them how cool their big sister is."

His statement makes Sakura blush, but she grins and nods.

"Thanks a lot you guys."

+!+

"It took my parents almost ten years to have me."

Sasuke is surprised to hear this from Sakura.

It's three days after their decision not to enter the Chunin Exams, and they're currently waiting for Kakashi and Naruto to show up for their missions that day. Kakashi was, quite honestly, surprised that the three had decided against doing the Chunin Exams, but when he heard it was so Sakura could be there when her mother gave birth without worrying, he understood and said he would recommend them next year.

Sakura usually doesn't say much when it's just the two of them, preferring the silence like Sasuke did.

Today, however, she seemed a bit chatty.

"…really?"

"Yeah," Sakura nods, smiling sadly. "They went through a lot… my dad said they went through like five miscarriages and several false positive pregnancy tests before I was born. Even then, I almost died when my mom was pregnant with me."

"What…?" Sasuke is beyond surprised to hear this. Sakura just nods and he watches her with wide eyes, wondering how on earth she was so calm about it.

"My mom had a lot of complications while she was pregnant with me. They thought they'd lost me several times over the months. She spent the last two months of her pregnancy in the hospital, so they could monitor us both and make sure I was doing ok. My mom said she cried when I was born because I was crying! She was just… just so happy I was ok…"

Sasuke just watches Sakura as she wipes away the tears that are starting. He never knew Sakura's parents had been through so much, nor did he ever suspect she almost died before she was born.

"S-Sorry… I get really emotional when I talk about this, especially when I think about my little sibling."

Sasuke shakes his head. "Don't worry about it."

Once Sakura calms down, they're standing a bit closer together, and Sakura's face is bright red.

"S-Sasuke-kun. We need to talk about what happened at the baby shower."

"Sakura, I—"

"Sakura-chan!"

They both turn their heads to see Naruto running to them, looking distressed and Sakura immediately becomes worried.

"What? What's wrong?!"

"Your mom's at the hospital!"

+!+

Sakura runs into the hospital looking frantic, heading right for the maternity ward and looking for Kizashi, but sees him nowhere. Naruto and Sasuke are right behind her as she rushes to the receptionist desk.

"I need to know where Mebuki Haruno is! I'm her daughter!"

The receptionist nods and starts making calls, while Naruto sets his hand on Sakura's shoulder.

"Sakura-chan, everything's going to be ok!"

She nods, but doesn't look at him.

"I know… I know, I'm just scared…"

The receptionist looks at Sakura a moment later and says "She's already been taken to the delivery room. You'll have to sit and wait. Your father knows you're here and will come get you once everything's over, ok?"

Sakura sighs a bit, but nods and goes to sit down. The boys go with her, sitting on either side of her, and Sakura is stiff, sitting up straight. All she's doing is praying that her mother and baby sibling will be ok.

Sasuke notices how scared she is, and sets his hand on one of hers. Sakura takes that as an ok for her to hold his hand and does so. She's surprised when Sasuke squeezes her hand for comfort, but doesn't blush or start to shy away.

Naruto is oblivious to the gesture, and is just telling Sakura that everything will be ok in the end, nothing would go wrong.

Sakura could only pray that he was right.

+!+

"Sakura. Sakura, wake up, sweetie."

Sakura slowly opens her eyes, letting them adjust and noticing that it's Kizashi that's woken her up. She sits up a bit, still holding onto Sasuke's hand, though he was asleep as well (and Naruto was too, drooling all over the chair next to him).

"Dad…? Is everything ok?"

Kizashi smiles and nods, ruffling Sakura's hair and earning a groan from her.

"Do you want to meet your little sister?"

It takes Sakura a moment to fully understand what he's said, but when she does, her eyes widen and she nods.

"Yes!"

Sakura gets up right away, releasing Sasuke's hand and following Kizashi into Mebuki's hospital room. It's the middle of the night, and she's surprised the hospital staff didn't wake the three of them up and kick them out, but she has a feeling Minato-sama had something to do with that.

She's quiet as can be when she follows Kizashi into Mebuki's room, surprised to see that her mother is awake and cradling a little pink bundle in her arms. Before Kizashi can say anything, Sakura runs to her mother's left side and hugs her tightly.

"Mom. I'm so glad you're ok."

Mebuki smiles tiredly and hugs Sakura back. "Sakura, I'm so glad to see you. Your sister and I both are."

Sakura nods, and looks over at the baby her mother is holding. Her heart just melts when she sees her little sister and she smiles.

The baby is pudgy, with blonde hair and green eyes. She's wide awake it looks, squirming and fussing. Sakura wonders if she's hungry, but Mebuki just gently bounces her and grins.

"Now, now, Hana-chan. It's ok. This is your big sister. You know her."

When Mebuki motions for Sakura to come to the other side, she does so, and sits next to her mother on the hospital bed, watching as Hana starts to calm down.

"Hana-chan, huh?"

"Mm-hm. Your father picked it. She looks like a Hana, huh?"

Sakura nods, smiling and letting Hana hold onto her finger. Hana cries a little, looking at Sakura and waiting for someone to comfort her.

Leaning in, Sakura kisses her little sister's forehead and tells her "Hi there, Hana. I'm glad to finally meet you face-to-face."

Hana stops crying at that moment.

+!+

Naruto is surprised to hear that Sasuke is spending a lot of time at Sakura's house, especially since she had a new little sister to help take care of. He figured Sasuke would want to be anywhere but Sakura's home because of this, but apparently not.

It really shocks him when he and Kushina go to see them a few weeks after Hana's birth, and Naruto sees Sasuke there with Sakura, talking to her and holding Hana. (That in itself was a surprise, because Naruto was sure Sasuke would be nervous and shy away when the offer to hold a baby was presented.)

Hana is ever so calm as Sasuke holds her, while Sakura makes faces and tries to get the baby girl to laugh.

"Come on, Hana! Laugh for me!"

Instead of laughing, Hana yawns, snuggling into Sasuke's arms and it makes Sakura pout.

Sasuke smirks and says "Looks like she's tired."

"Yeah… I really wanted her to laugh for you though. She has an adorable giggle!"

Naruto just watches Sasuke and Sakura quietly, as she kisses Hana's forehead and tells her to sleep, and Sasuke smiles instead of smirking.

Naruto wonders, just for a moment, if this will, possibly, be Sasuke and Sakura's future.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** FORESHADOWING, LOLOL.  
Everything is going to be so full of fluff and cuteness. :'D  
i bet you wanna know what happened at the baby shower.  
you'll find out later lolz.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Ino was the first person to visit Sakura after her little sister was brought home. She was there that first day, and fell absolutely in love with her best friend's new baby sister.

"Oh my gosh, she's so cute, Sakura~! She's getting so big!"

Sakura grins and nods, patting baby Hana on the head while she slept in her bassinet.

"She really is, I just love her! She's the greatest. Sasuke-kun has been coming over a lot lately, to see if he can help with anything."

Sakura knows it was a mistake to say that the second Ino grins, and it makes her blush and turn away, focusing on Hana rather than her best friend.

"Oh really now?"

The high pitch in Ino's voice lets Sakura know that Ino is thinking things a thirteen-year-old shouldn't be thinking, and she regrets ever saying a word. Ino is thinking something _scandalous_ is going on, but Sakura knows it's far from that and simply a friend helping out.

 _Maybe...?_

"I-Ino! It's nothing more than Sasuke-kun helping my family out! His mother has been coming by a lot too!"

"Of course," Ino grins and leans back, watching Sakura. "I believe you…for the most part."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Just that I remember what happened at the baby shower… so Sasuke-kun coming over _just_ to help out with your little sister sounds less innocent than you think."

Before she can protest, Hana starts crying and Sakura is surprised, but she picks the three week old up, rocking her gently.

"Shh, Hana-chan, it's ok."

Hana slowly calms down, whimpering a little and sucking on her fingers. Sakura smiles and looks at Ino.

"I think she's hungry. I'm going to take her to my mom."

"Sure," nodding, Ino watches Sakura get up and walk into the kitchen, "but we're going to be talking even more about Sasuke-kun coming over when you get back."

Sakura almost screams.

+!+

Mebuki permits Sakura to take Hana on a walk when the baby girl is two months old. Sakura gets her all dressed and ready, gets the stroller and diaper bag set, and the Haruno siblings are off in no time. Sakura watches where she's going, but also makes sure to look at Hana and see her little sister cooing and looking around, taking everything in.

Sakura smiles at her, saying "Do you like looking at everything, Hana-chan? This is our home. It's a very nice place."

She takes Hana to the market to pick up some things for dinner, and everyone around them would come over and swoon over Hana, saying how beautiful and precious she was, and congratulating her on becoming a big sister. Sakura grins and thanks them, before saying she needs to get going and finishes paying for her items.

On the walk home, Sakura is surprised to see Sasuke around their part of the neighborhood, and smiles.

"Sasuke-kun!"

Truthfully, it doesn't surprise Sakura when Sasuke looks at her and gives a slight smile, he's been doing that so much more frequently than ever before.

"Hey. What are you up to?"

"I was picking up groceries for dinner and taking Hana on her first walk around the village."

Nodding, Sasuke looks at Hana in the stroller and smiles a little when she coos.

"I see."

"What were up to?"

"Oh that… Kakashi wanted to talk to me about a mission he's going on."

Sakura perks up when she hears that, and starts walking again, Sasuke following next to her.

"Oh really? What did he want to talk to you about?"

"He wants me to go with him."

"That's great!"

"But… it'll take three years."

She stops, and Sasuke's ready for her to flip out, tell him he can't leave because it would upset Hana-chan (yes, she would say Hana over herself), that she wanted him to stay around.

"Wow… three years is a long time."

"Yeah."

"…you should go."

Sasuke is surprised to hear Sakura say that. She starts walking again, looking at Hana and he starts to follow her again. They're both silent, the only sounds coming from Hana as she coos and make happy sounds, and Sasuke hates this silence.

He wants Sakura to be upset, or to be happy, or something. It doesn't matter! He just wants her to talk to him, to tell him why she thinks he should go, or tell him the secret that she _doesn't_ want him to go and wants him to stay in the village (to stay with her).

"Saku—"

"I think it'll be good training for you. When you come back, we can all take the Chunin Exams together!"

Sakura's smile tells Sasuke her words are only a half-truth, and she very much wants him to stay, but Sasuke's not sure if he wants to go or stay. He still hasn't decided.

"If I do go, I'll write you."

"Heh… you better make that a promise!"

Sasuke smiles and nods.

"Ah… I will."

+!+

Sasuke stays for dinner that night. Mebuki is happy to have a guest, while Kizashi is absolutely sure this teenage boy is going to steal his precious Sakura from him, but he doesn't make it known and simply tries to get Hana to laugh at him (she does, she always does. Hana thinks her daddy is funny).

He helps them with setting the table and stays by Sakura when she's helping Hana calm down from getting upset over feeling like she was being ignored.

"Let me see her." Sasuke says after a little bit, and Sakura hands Hana to him. The eight-week-old cries and squirms as she handed to him, but Sasuke doesn't even mind when Hana flails her arms and hits him. It doesn't hurt, she's too tiny to cause any kind of pain to him.

"Shh, you're ok."

Sakura just watches Sasuke while he holds Hana. He looks at her softly and smiles at her, telling her everything was ok, that no one was ignoring her. Hana cries more, but it makes Sakura stare in awe as Sasuke holds her close, kisses the baby's forehead, and it starts to calm her down instantly.

She's amazed by this.

+!+

"Thank you, for calming Hana down earlier."

When he's about to leave, Sakura follows him outside to the porch, so she can tell him goodbye privately and her dad wasn't staring down Sasuke (he was too busy, again, getting Hana to giggle and laugh at him).

Smiling, Sasuke says "It was nothing."

"How… where did you learn to calm a baby down like that?"

"Sakura, I have _tons_ of cousins, lots of them older than me. I've held several babies and even babysat a number of them."

"Oh… I see…"

Once again they're quiet, and all they can hear is a stray cat meowing somewhere, and the wind blowing around.

"Sakura, I need to—"

"When I said you should go on the mission, it's not that I want you to leave."

Sasuke stops speaking the second Sakura starts, and he watches her, listening to what she says. He's not shocked, at all. He knew Sakura wasn't trying to get rid of him, and he knew she loved it when he came over to help with Hana (personally, he enjoyed it as well, though he didn't know why).

After a moment, Sakura hugs him and says, "I'd hate for you to leave… but I want you to grow stronger."

 _So…if one day, you come to love me and we marry, we can protect our family together…_

Sasuke hesitantly hugs Sakura back, and he knows she's going to start crying. She already knows his decision is to go with Kakashi on the mission, and that they won't see each other for three years.

"I'll write you every chance I get." He whispers, and she nods, saying she'll do the same, and they stay like that for a while. Quietly hugging while Sakura cries into him, knowing she won't see him for three years, that they won't get the chance to really, honestly get to know each other as they get older, not until he got back at least.

It's quiet for a long while, and what comes next shocks Sasuke, but he's not surprised when Sakura hugs him around the neck, and gives him a full on kiss. He can't complain about it, because he kisses her back. (They stay like that again, until Kizashi catches them and runs Sasuke off his porch with cursing.)

Things were going to be interesting for the next few weeks.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Yo, yeah, Sasuke will be going away with Kakashi on that mission soon, but not for a few chapters, I promise! He and Sakura have a LOT to think and talk about.

You may be wondering where all the NaruHina fluff is, since I'm focusing so much on SasuSaku right now... But it'll come soon! I'm thinking about some things and trying to get the future of this fanfic worked out!

OH ALSO. This WILL go to when they're all grown up, it's just going to take a while to get there, so, sit back and enjoy the fluffy ride. :D

(and yes, all my other fanfics will be updated as well.)


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

They are NOT a couple. Naruto can point and laugh all he wants. Sasuke and Sakura were not boyfriend and girlfriend, absolutely not. (Half of the village knew by now that the two had kissed, thanks to Kizashi bragging that he'd run off an Uchiha kid for making a move on his precious Sakura. Mikoto was shocked and Fugaku found the whole thing to be hilarious, much to Sasuke's surprise. Itachi did too, but also felt bad for Sasuke.)

Naruto tells them that they should just make it official, but Sasuke says he'll be leaving soon on a three-year mission, and Sakura states she'll be starting training with Lady Tsunade soon in order to become a medical ninja. They didn't want to start a relationship right now, and would wait to see how they felt about each other when Sasuke got back.

They said it was because they didn't want to be tied down if it came to be that there were no romantic feelings anymore in three years.

Naruto thinks they're both stupid.

+!+

They don't talk about the kiss. They're quiet and Sasuke hasn't been over much lately (mainly because of Kizashi. He doesn't want to get cursed out for kissing Sakura, even though she's the one who initiated it).

Even so, Sasuke misses going over and spending time with Sakura helping her with Hana while Mebuki watches them (she's very fond of Sasuke). The only times he sees Hana are when Sakura or her mom are out with her, and he's shopping on his own or with Mikoto.

Sasuke and Sakura are awkward around each other when they're alone now. Sakura's always blushing and Sasuke is silent, trying his best to hide his own blush, though his isn't as strong as Sakura's. They try to talk, but it comes out in stutters and stammering, both of them so horribly nervous and unsure about what to do now.

It takes three weeks of awkward feelings and stutters before Sakura clearly, without fear, says "I don't want you to leave."

It's when she's at his house and he's trying to figure out what to pack for the missions. She had been quietly watching Sasuke while he mumbled to himself as he made a list. Her revelation surprised him.

He was leaving in a week. The plans had already been made, Mikoto had already gone through one of her crying fits because her "baby was leaving for his first long term mission", and Fugaku had already told him he was proud, and would miss him. Itachi had told him the same thing, and said they might run into each other when Itachi was on missions out if the village as well.

Sakura telling him this comes at a bad time. He's already gotten excited about going on the mission and seeing different places, learning new jutsu, but there has been that slight twinge of sadness when he would look at Sakura.

He wanted to be there with her, but knew she couldn't leave when she was about to starting medical ninjutsu training.

"…you know I have to leave next week."

Sakura nods, sighing and leaning against him while he continues to jot down everything he still needs to purchase before he leaves.

"I know."

"The years will fly by. I'll be home before you even miss me."

She bites her lip, and takes his hand in hers (grateful that he's ambidextrous and prefers to write with his left hand).

"I'll miss you the second you're out of my sight."

+!+

"What do you do when my brother is on missions?"

Sasuke asks the brunette female in his house later that day. Sakura has long been home, and he feels a pang of sadness when he thinks about how upset she looked when she finally said she had to leave, that she would see him tomorrow.

Sakura was obviously counting down the days until he left (Sasuke was too, for several reasons).

The girl, fifteen-year-old Asuna Myuki, just looks at him, confused. "What do you mean, what do I do when he's gone? I go on missions myself."

"No," Sasuke shakes his head, watching to make sure Itachi doesn't come back and hears something that may or may not turn out to be private. "I mean when he's away for months at a time, and you're not on missions the entire time."

Asuna's quiet, she looks like she's thinking. Sasuke never expected his brother's girlfriend/betrothed (arranged marriage, yet they have mutual feelings for each other anyway) to look at him in such a strange way. She looked at him like he was crazy, but it seemed like she knew why he was asking such a question.

"I cry. A lot, actually. But then I write him letters, and he writes to me as well. When he gets back, after he's spent time with you and your parents, he picks me up and we go on a date," Asuna smiles, shaking her head. "It makes me happy, it makes Itachi happy too. We just enjoy each other's presence."

Sasuke nods, and when Itachi comes back and asks if they talked about anything, he gets nervous and glances at Asuna, who smiles.

"Oh, we were just talking about when you and I are getting married, that's all."

Sasuke is grateful to be getting Asuna as a sister-in-law.

+!+

Sasuke lies awake that night and stares at his ceiling. He's not sure what to do at the moment. He still, very much, wants to go on the mission with Kakashi, but feels bad that he's leaving Sakura behind and can't do anything to alleviate the sadness she's feeling.

He feels his own sadness, knowing he won't be able to see her for three years. Somehow, he feels his heart ache when he thinks about it. He doesn't understand why, but when Sakura looks at him when they go to their own homes, or leave each other's (he finally feels safe going to her house again to help with Hana; Kizashi does not scare him), he feels nothing but heart ache.

Sasuke knows he has to talk to Sakura before he leaves, and not just about missions or her sister, nothing like that.

They need to talk about their relationship.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** The next six chapters will take place during the last six days Sasuke is in the village, before he leaves with Kakashi. Chapters 12-15 will take place during the three years, and then chapter 16 will be when he comes back.

I'm telling you this because, once that chapter is up, I will be deviating a little bit. I will be jumping around in the lives of these chapters, to when they're adults, back to when they're children, and once again back to when they're teenagers.

It's going to be a long ride.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The first thing he tells her is that they need to talk once Kakashi releases them for the day. Sakura wonders why they couldn't talk at that moment, before Kakashi got there and it was just them and Naruto, because Sasuke tells her he wants to talk about their relationship.

She blushes a bit, but nods and quietly agrees, saying she'll go with him to talk when they were done.

Naruto doesn't even notice, and thinks they're just standing near each other because Sakura was feeling emotional about Sasuke leaving in just six days, so he ignores them.

When Kakashi does show up, he tells them they have no missions for the day, because he's been called away for a briefing over the mission he and Sasuke will be going on, and told them they could do as they wanted.

Naruto runs home, saying he didn't sleep at all the night before and he was going right to bed (though, he was going to have a rude awakening when Kushina tells him to do chores), and Sasuke and Sakura start walking together, nowhere in mind.

"So… what did you want to talk about?"

Sasuke stops and turns to face Sakura, and he can see how red her face is. It makes him smile a bit, just because she was still very nervous about their kiss and everything that had happened in the last few weeks.

It was cute.

"I know that we told Naruto we weren't in a relationship… but I think we should change that."

Sakura is very shocked to hear this, but she's also excited. She never expected to hear Sasuke say this, especially when it was so close to him having to leave.

"…really? You…you want to be boyfriend and girlfriend…?"

Sasuke nods, his cheeks tinged pink as he does so, which makes Sakura giggle when she notices it.

"But you're leaving."

"I know. But, I think we can still do this, even when we're far away from each other."

"Are you sure?"

"My brother and his girlfriend do it all the time."

"Oh."

For a few minutes, they're both completely silent; Sakura's staring at her feet while Sasuke looks away, and they're both thinking, trying to work things out in their heads.

Sakura smiles and nods a few minutes later.

"Ok!"

Sasuke looks at her, surprised.

"…what?"

"Ok! Let's be boyfriend and girlfriend!"

+!+

Sakura goes to his house for dinner that night. Mikoto is ecstatic to have the pink haired girl over, especially with Asuna being there too. (Mikoto was fully convinced Sakura was Sasuke's one true love and they would be married one day, though she didn't tell Sasuke this.)

Sakura didn't expect to see another girl there, and quickly asked Sasuke about it.

"She's my brother's fiancé."

Hearing that surprises Sakura, but she doesn't get to ask anything else before Asuna runs over to her with a grin.

"You must be Sakura! I've heard _so much_ about you!"

Sasuke is instantly embarrassed by Asuna's statement, but Sakura smiles.

"Oh, really?"

"Mm-hm!"

All Sasuke does is watch Asuna as she takes Sakura over to the couch and they sit to talk. Itachi wants to say something, but seeing Sasuke is embarrassed keeps him from doing so, and he just gives Sasuke a smile, before joining Sakura and Asuna.

Sasuke follows a moment later, sitting next to Sakura and listening to her and Asuna.

"So, Sasuke-kun just told me you and Itachi are engaged?"

Asuna smiles and nods.

"We are! We have been since I was born!"

Truthfully, Sakura is very surprised to hear this. She thought arranged marriages were a thing of the distant past, but apparently not.

"Really? I've heard of any arranged marriages before…"

Laughing, Asuna nods.

"Yeah, I know… See, my clan and the Uchiha clan were a part of alliance a long time ago, but it was ended after a lot of stuff. So, after I was born, the marriage between Itachi and I was set up. We'll be getting married when I'm eighteen!"

Sakura is quiet for a minute, but nods.

"I see!"

"Hehe. Even so, I very much love Itachi, and I know he loves me too…"

Sakura smiles when she sees Itachi do the same, before taking Asuna's hand and nodding.

"I absolutely do."

+!+

They're very quiet when they walk home that night. Sakura seems to be thinking, and Sasuke is trying to make sure they get Sakura home before it gets too dark. His mother made him promise to get Sakura home right away, before it got to be late.

"What are you thinking about?"

Sakura looks at Sasuke with a smile.

"Your brother and Asuna. They're cute."

He nods, and Sakura takes his hand after a minute.

"I think they'll be really happy together."

"I know they're going to be. Itachi treats her well, and she really loves him."

Seeing Sasuke smile makes Sakura happy. She loves to see him smile, and it makes her so glad to see him content, happy.

"That's wonderful to hear."

She knows they're going to be happy together, her and Sasuke.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I apologize greatly for the lateness of this chapter, and the shortness. Tomorrow's chapter will, hopefully, be up earlier and will be longer.

I had a field day with homework, and trying to get Naruto Storm to not be a laggy mess on my PC, but to no avail so far. :/ Just hoping for a patch at the moment.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Naruto is shocked to see them walking and holding hands the next day. Kakashi had told them that there would be no more missions since he and Sasuke were about to leave, and told them to just relax and do whatever they wanted.

Because of that, Naruto has been training with Jiraiya and spending time with his parents, so it's no wonder he's surprised to see Sasuke and Sakura walking through the village, holding hands, acting like boyfriend and girlfriend, especially after they had told him they weren't a couple.

Naruto's first thought is that they _lied_ to him, how unforgivable! How dare they lie to their best friend!

Or… did they? Naruto hadn't seen them since late yesterday, so, is it possible that they didn't actually become boyfriend and girlfriend until the night before?

 _Either way, they didn't tell me!_

Upset and feeling a little betrayed, Naruto was walking to the training field, planning to practice his Rasengan more, before he bumped into someone.

"Oh, Hinata!"

Hearing her name makes her jump a bit, but Hinata calms down after a second and looks behind her, becoming nervous when she sees Naruto is the one to say her name.

"N-Naruto-kun!"

Naruto just grins, and it makes Hinata even more nervous, but she still smiles.

"What are you up to, Hinata?"

"O-Oh… I'm heading off to training! W-What are you up to?"

"The same! Sasuke and Sakura were off doing something, so, I'm off to train myself!"

"Oh, I see."

When Hinata becomes quiet, Naruto isn't sure what to say, but eventually says "Do you want to train together?"

The idea, honestly, surprises Hinata, because she didn't expect Naruto to make this suggestion, but, because it would mean she got some time with him, she nods.

"S-Sure!"

"Great! Let's go!"

+!+

"Apparently, Naruto was with the Hyuuga girl today."

"Hm? Really?"

Sasuke nods, while Sakura leans into him and holds his hand. They'd spent the majority of the day together, and then Sasuke was over at her house for dinner that night, which both Mebuki and Hana happy (Kizashi…not so much). At the moment, Hana was asleep in the baby bjorn Sasuke was wearing, comfortably resting there and making all kinds of tiny noises while she slept, which made Sakura laugh a little when she heard them.

"Kiba told me he saw them at the training grounds together. He acted like he was offended."

"Haha, who knows? Maybe he was. I think its sweet that Naruto and Hinata were training together."

"Hm."

"They'll be a cute couple one day."

Sasuke rolls his eyes a bit, but still smiles. Sakura was completely convinced that Naruto was going to fall in love with Hinata one day, especially since she liked him already. Sakura very much wants Naruto to notice how much Hinata likes him, and soon.

"If he notices her feelings."

"Well, yeah."

Before another word is said, Hana starts to fuss and cry, and Sakura sits up, watching as Sasuke holds her closer and tries to gently shush her. Sakura smiles, holding out her index finger for Hana to hold, and the three month old gladly takes hold of her big sister.

"Shh, Hana, it's all right."

"You're really good at calming her down."

For a moment, Sasuke blushes, but it goes away when Hana cries again, and he goes back to getting her to calm down.

"Why isn't she calming down?"

Sakura shrugs, giving Hana a kiss on the forehead.

"She might want our mom, but she also be hungry. I'll go get her bottle really quick."

"All right."

+!+

When Sakura comes back a few minutes later, Hana is fussing and crying even more than before, and Sasuke is obviously get distressed about it and worried.

"Here!"

She quickly gives him Hana's bottle, and the baby girl instantly starts the eating the second it's given to her. She slowly calms down and happily snuggles back into Sasuke's arms, making happy noises as she eats.

Sasuke breathes a sigh of relief and thanks Sakura, while she nods and smiles, sitting next to him again and holding Hana's hand.

"She must have been really hungry if she was crying so badly."

"Yeah."

Neither of them say a word while Hana eats, just watching her and listening to her coo. After a few minutes, once she's finished, Sasuke hands her to Sakura, who talks to her softly and starts to burp her.

"Yeah, you were hungry, huh? It's all right now, Hana-chan~."

Sasuke just watches her, so impressed with Sakura. She suddenly got thrown into the role of big sister, but she had adjusted and happily taken that title, made it her own. She was doing so well making her mother had all the help she needed when Hana was hungry or needed changed.

Sasuke was sure that Sakura would be a wonderful mother one day. Nothing could convinced him otherwise.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Again, I apologize for the lateness and shortness of this chapter. I had a college algebra exam that was due this weekend.  
I did not do as well as I had hoped. :I

I hope to have a longer chapter up tomorrow.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The week flies by, and before they know it, it's the day before Sasuke and Kakashi leave. Naruto insisted on the three of them going to Ichiraku's for one more dinner together, and Sasuke, for some reason, can't refuse. He thinks it's because he's starting to feel that he's going to miss his best friend and girlfriend, and the entire village in general, so that's, perhaps, the whole reason why.

Naruto is loud, as usual, while they eat. They're all fairly focused on their meals, and Naruto can't stop talking about how his training is going, asking Sakura how hers was, and trying to get an idea of what Sasuke might end up learning from Kakashi.

They were rivals, after all. Naruto had told Sasuke several times he was going to miss having him around "as a punching bag", but Sasuke never said anything back, just smile and shook his head.

Naruto had always been like this; it wasn't anything new for him. Though he had mellowed quite a bit recently, which Sasuke thinks is because of Naruto and Hinata spending a lot of time together. Like, _a lot_ of time together. In all honesty, Sasuke wouldn't be surprised if the two were secretly dating and just keeping it from the world right now.

Not like he could say anything against it, since he and Sakura had decided not to tell anyone apart from their parents and Naruto.

His mother had been a sobbing mess the entire day. She wasn't prepared for her youngest to leave for three years, and she was worried, of course. All she was hoping was that Sasuke would be ok, and that he would keep her updated on how he was doing, which he had promised multiple times that he would do.

His father was proud, proud enough that he had told Sasuke several times in the last week that he was, and that he couldn't wait to see how Sasuke will change in the time he's gone.

It made him happy. To hear that his father, one of the hardest people to please, was proud of him, made Sasuke happy. Sakura was so excited when she heard it, and saw Sasuke smiling. It was amazing to her.

Itachi was amazingly proud of Sasuke as well, just as before. He couldn't wait either to see how his little brother changed in three years, and already challenged him to a spar in the future, once Sasuke was home.

"So, are Itachi-niisan and Asuna-neechan waiting for you to get back before they get married?"

Sasuke shakes his head at Naruto's question, saying "No, actually. They're going to have a private ceremony about four months before I get back, and they'll have an actual wedding once I'm home."

Naruto nods. He figured that's what they were planning to do, but hadn't been over to the Uchiha household to check (the main reason was because, the day she met him, Asuna invited him to the wedding, and later invited his parents as well). He knew that Mikoto was beyond excited to have her first daughter-in-law and was prepared to help Asuna start planning the wedding as soon as she turned eighteen, and that was only two years away.

"Ah I can't wait for their wedding," Sakura swoons and Sasuke smiles a bit, rolling his eyes at his girlfriend. "Weddings are so beautiful. I bet Asuna will make a lovely bride!"

"She wants you be one of her bridesmaids, you know. She asked me to tell you so you can let her know as soon as possible."

The second she squeals and hugs him, Sasuke knows that Sakura's going to tell his soon-to-be sister-in-law that she would absolutely be a bridesmaid in the wedding.

Naruto doesn't understand Sakura's obsession with weddings, and he doesn't try to either. He doesn't want to sit through a six hour long explanation about it; he didn't need that nope. Not at all.

 _Girls are so weird when it comes to weddings…_

+!+

Sasuke requests to leave early, before 90% of the village is awake. Kakashi is confused as to why, but agrees, saying it would be best so they can get a head start on their mission, making some headway and get closer to their destination than originally planned. Especially since it would take over a week to get there otherwise. He doesn't want to deal with emotional farewells, especially from his mother and Sakura. He didn't want either of them to start crying.

But the moment they reach the gates, Sasuke can tell his lovely girlfriend is there and he just turns to Kakashi, giving him the worst glare he's ever given someone.

"What? You expected me to keep our departure time a secret form your girlfriend?"

Rolling his eyes, Sasuke makes sure to get ahead of Kakashi, wanting to say goodbye to Sakura right away so she didn't have to get worked up and start sobbing.

It wouldn't be good for either of them.

"Sakura."

Sakura instantly turns around with a smile, hugging Sasuke tightly and saying "I'm gonna miss you so much… I had to say goodbye one more time."

He hugs her back just as tightly, right as Kakashi walks by and says "We need to get going Sasuke."

He doesn't even stop, he just keeps walking. The moment they break their hug, Sakura is quick to give Sasuke a kiss on the cheek, with her ever so bright smile.

"I'll see you in three years, ok? Don't fall for any girls while you're gone!"

Sasuke rolls his eyes again, nodding and kissing Sakura's forehead.

"Don't fall for that idiot blond while I'm gone."

It makes Sakura laugh, and Sasuke leaves after that, looking back just once more to see her still waiting and waving.

He prays three years go by quickly.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I apologize for how late this chapter is. This, obviously, is not going to be an every day fanfic. I have a plan for it, and I will attempt to update once a week until it's finished. Just please understand if I'm unable to. I have business calculus, macroeconomics, accounting, and humanities classes, a leader ship course, meetings with a mentor, and work. It's a lot.

But I'm going to try. I want to finish this fanfic, and several of the others I have going on here, before I start any more.


	8. Important Update (Again)

Hello again, readers.

I'm planning to return in a few weeks/months, and completing the fanfics that are up right now.

However, I have recently fallen deeply in love with the series My Hero Academia/Boku no Hero Academia, and am considering writing fanfics for this series as well (mostly one-shots or drabble series about an OC with either Bakugo or Todoroki [holy frick i love these boys omg]).

There is a poll up on my profile. If you don't mind voting, I would appreciate it.

I will be back soon, but definitely not before the end of this month. Hopefully sometime in mid-late April I will return and be able to finish my current fanfics.

Thank you,

~SakuraPrisma~


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